The government gave its green light recently, without much fanfare, just as settler violence was escalating. Since the start of the current legislative session, 103 settlements were approved, on top of 127 already existing settlements. Settlement procedures have also changed, showing a desire to accelerate the process of seizing land. Polls show Likud decline, but the country's majority opposes the ceasefire with Iran.

Kuala Lumpur calls on the UN to review the peacekeeping mission, concerned for its 500 troops (Malbatt Battalion) on the ground. Meanwhile, patrols have been suspended. Jakarta calls for a thorough investigation into the deaths of three soldiers in March. A joint statement with 73 signatories was submitted to the Security Council.

In a reflection sent to AsiaNews on the eve of the prayer vigil for peace called for tomorrow by the Pope – which coincides with the anticipated start of talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan – the cardinal recalls that peace is not an “external matter”, but “arises from within” and becomes “word, gesture and way of life”. If conscience “is silenced, aggression grows”. The cross “shows that true power is not that which crushes, but that which remains faithful to the truth”.

The secretary general of Catholic schools spoke to AsiaNews about the climate of fear and mourning in his country a day after Israeli’s devastating attack. “We have never experienced anything so strong, serious, and sudden,” he said, speaking on the eve of peace talks in Pakistan. Meanwhile, he remains committed to keeping teaching alive, online and in person.

Bishop Martinelli talks about the festivities in the conflict-stricken Gulf, starting with the testimony of the Missionaries of Charity. As a result of fear, some migrants have left the Emirates temporarily, while marriage and baptism courses are on hold. School and catechism classes have been "online for over a month." Church closures generated “significant media coverage”. A "people of peoples" from over a hundred countries bear witness to the faith.

In the hills south of Hebron, in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, marked by increasingly frequent Israeli settler attacks, a small music project called Sotna (Our Voice) is trying to carve out some room for normalcy. Two activists, Amalia Kelter Zeitlin and Kai Jack, have started a children's orchestra that continues to meet weekly despite rockets and intimidation.